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New Delhi: Panasonic Group will form a joint venture with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), the nation's biggest oil firm, to manufacture cylindrical lithium-ion batteries. Panasonic Energy Co Ltd, a group firm of Japan-based multinational electronics company, has signed a binding term sheet and initiated discussions with IOCL "to draw a framework for the formation of a joint venture" to manufacture cylindrical lithium-ion batteries, said a statement on Sunday. "This initiative is driven by the anticipated expansion of demand for batteries for two- and three-wheel vehicles and energy storage systems in the Indian market," it added. Cylindrical lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in consumer electronics, power tools, and electric vehicles. Panasonic Energy is a maker of automotive lithium-ion batteries. The two companies are engaging in a feasibility study regarding the utilisation of battery technology to facilitate the transition to clean energy in India, the statement said. The companies are aiming for "finalising details of their collaboration by the summer of this year", it added. State-owned IOCL is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2046, aligning with the Indian government's plan to achieve net-zero for the country as a whole by 2070. "Through its partnership with IndianOil, Panasonic Energy aims to address environmental challenges, such as reducing CO2 emissions, as well as to contribute to establishing a complete supply chain ecosystem for improving India's self-reliance and fortifying India's position in the global energy landscape," it said. This will also lead to the growth of India's battery industry by enhancing cell technology and creating domestic demand for raw materials and new entrants. "Leveraging its expertise in battery development and manufacturing, Panasonic Energy strives to contribute to the growth of the lithium-ion battery industry and India's energy transition, while pursuing its mission of helping to build a sustainable society," it said. Established in April 2022, Panasonic Energy provides battery technology-based products and solutions globally. Through its automotive lithium-ion batteries, storage battery systems and dry batteries, the company provides solutions to a broad range of business areas, from mobility and social infrastructure to medical and consumer products.

The percentage of small and mid-cap stocks trading below 20-DMA has come down to 57% from 83% last week, indicating attempts to pull back, says Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.However, the percentage of stocks closing below the 30-day low increased to 9% from 2% last week which is indicating that the recovery that we have seen lately among the SMIDs is yet to become broad-based, he said.Edited excerpts from a chat:After the solid rally seen particularly on Thursday's expiry, what does the bigger picture look like for the April series which will also mark the beginning of voting in the Lok Sabha election?In the last 10 years, 60% of the time Nifty50 has gained an average of 5% in April. If we look at the returns during the election period in the last 20 years, 75% of the time April months have been positive. Top contributors to Nifty50 this month were Auto and Banks, which contributed around 43% to Nifty. We haven’t seen much participation from the IT, Energy, and Oil sector which together contributes around 27% to Nifty. These sectors need to shed their troubles to lend momentum to Nifty’s upsides. The need for more actors to take centre stage is pressing, as Thursday saw a clear case of rejection trade in the face of a record peak. It was evident that while traders were keen on bargain hunting early in the week, which ultimately forced a short covering rally as the week progressed, with an urgency prompted by derivatives’ expiry, the turn lower from the record peak illustrates a strong unwillingness to chase prices higher. This however is not an outright signal for a collapse, but we would need to get above 22,350-22,410 to nurture hopes towards a 22,700-23,000 push. On the downside, we have ample support near 22,200 as well as 22,050, which could ensure that we may not see a collapse per se. That said, the real risk is that momentum stays away from either side, for at least a week, before earnings numbers flow in.Steady buying was seen in both mid and smallcaps during the week. Do you see the green patch continuing in the favour of bulls as we step into the busy earnings season in April?The percentage of small and mid-cap stocks trading below 20 DMA has come down to 57% from 83% last week, indicating attempts to pull back. However, the percentage of stocks closing below the 30-day low increased to 9% from 2% last week which indicates that the recovery that we have seen lately among the SMIDs is yet to become broad-based. Having said that the MACD crossover that we had pinned on last week as the basis of expecting outperformance over larger stocks, is maturing well, boosting confidence towards playing more upsides. A similar positive crossover is also seen in the mid-cap index, encouraging us to stick to the buy side.After the sell-off in Nifty IT, do you see chances of a pullback rally now?90% of the IT stocks are trading below the 50-day SMAs and 40% of the stocks have closed below 1 month low. IT stocks have had a tough time since January 2024, but are about to find some solace in April, which has been seasonally a good time for IT in general. In fact, 81% of the time in the last 12 years, Nifty IT gained an average 4% in April. Also, the Nifty IT index is nearing 50% fibo retracement of the October 2023-January 2024 move, and with 30% of the stocks having moved into the oversold region, it may not be long before IT turns higher.BSE and Angel One were among the top gainers in the week. Which side of the trade would you be going ahead?BSE has had a vertical rise in the last fortnight, swinging from one end of the lower Bollinger band to the upper band, while following Nifty’s pattern closely during this period. Just like Nifty did, BSE also turned lower from its record peak on Thursday. We will begin next week assuming that the stock is still within a broad consolidation band and that Thursday's pullback may not extend as far as Rs 2,300, but will be keen to chase rallies should there be an outright push above Rs 2,600. Angel One on the other hand had a muted Thursday in stark contrast with the large gain on Wednesday. We believe that the slowdown near the upper Bollinger band is a sign of potential pullback in the next few days. Longs hence could have stop loss below Rs 2,860, with eyes on Rs 3,350-3,700 in two to six weeks’ time frame.Give us your top picks for the week.KPRMILL (CMP: 844)View: BuyTargets: 890 - 930Stop loss: 814After making an all-time high in November 2023, the stock has been in a profit booking mode and found a base near 720 from where a bounce back is underway. It has seen a Psar breakout in the weekly time frame along with MACD very close to breaking the signal line. All in favor of positivity in the near term. 14 weekly RSI is above 60 underlining the strength in the ongoing momentum. We expect the stock to move towards 890 and 930 in the near term. All longs may be protected with stop loss placed below 819.INDIACEM (CMP: 214)View: BuyTargets: 234 - 242Stop loss: 203After hitting the horizontal resistance zone in December, the stock has been in a correction. Last week, it formed a base around the horizontal support of 195, and long-legged Doji was formed in the weekly charts indicating a reversal. Also, the MACD histogram has seen signs of exhaustion at lower levels in the weekly time frame supporting our view for a pullback in the near term. We expect the stock to move towards 234 -242 in the next few weeks. All longs may be protected with stop loss placed below 203.

The RBI may again keep the key interest rate unchanged in April as it is likely to focus more on bringing down inflation to the 4 per cent target after concerns over economic growth abated with GDP growth estimated at nearly 8 per cent, said experts. Also, the Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel - Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) - may take cues from the central banks of some major economies like the US and UK, which are apparently in wait-and-watch mode on interest rate cuts. Switzerland has become the first major economy to cut interest rates, while Japan, the world's third-largest economy, ended its eight-year period of negative interest rates regime. The meeting of the Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das headed MPC is scheduled for April 3-5. The decision will be announced on April 5 (Friday). It will be the first bi-monthly monetary policy of fiscal 2024-25. A total of six MPC meetings are scheduled for the fiscal beginning April 1, 2024. The Reserve Bank last hiked the repo rate to 6.5 per cent in February 2023 and since then it has held the rate at the same level in its last six bi-monthly policies. "Given that inflation is still in the 5 per cent range and there is a possibility of future shocks on the food inflation front, the MPC is expected to maintain the status quo on rate and stance this time," said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda. He further said there can be a revision in the GDP forecast, which will be eagerly awaited. "The growth in FY24 has been much better than expected, and hence, the central bank will have less concerns here and will continue focusing on targeting inflation," Sabnavis added. India posted 8.4 per cent economic growth in the December quarter of the fiscal 2023-24. The National Statistical Office (NSO) has revised GDP estimates for the first and second quarters of this fiscal to 8.2 and 8.1 per cent from 7.8 per cent and 7.6 per cent, respectively. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, Icra, said the upward revision in the NSO's GDP growth estimates for the first and second quarters of fiscal 2023-24, three successive quarters of 8 per cent plus GDP expansion and the CPI print of 5.1 per cent for February 2024, suggest status quo on rates and stance in the upcoming April meeting. "Icra believes that the policy stance is unlikely to be changed before the August 2024 MPC review until there is visibility on the monsoon turnout as well as on the sustenance of the growth momentum and the US Fed's rate decisions," she said. Consequently, the earliest rate cut is only likely in the October 2024 meeting unless growth posits a negative surprise in the intervening quarters, amid a shallow rate cut cycle limited to 50 bps at best, Nayar added. On expectations from the MPC, Ranen Banerjee, Partner and Leader Economic Advisory, PwC India, opined that the overall strong GDP growth in the third quarter, moderating core inflation going below 3.5 per cent, global increase in crude prices, increased logistics costs and the escalating situation in geopolitical conflicts would be the key issues for deliberation. "While some of the central banks in emerging economies have started to cut policy rates, the central banks of major economies are still unsure. The yield differential between India and the US has narrowed putting pressure on fund flows," he said. Banerjee added that the rupee is cushioned owing to the bond index-related flows anticipated from the second quarter and is providing comfort despite the narrowing of the yields. "...while the MPC is most likely going to be in the pause mode again, there is a small window opening up on the policy rate front owing to which we are likely to have a few members of the MPC voting for a rate cut, but they will not be in majority," he noted. Nitin Gupta, Secretary, CREDAI NCR, Bhiwadi Neemrana, said he is hopeful for a reduction in the repo rate, even if marginal, as it would lead to a decrease in interest rates for home loans, consequently stimulating growth in the affordable housing segment. "With proactive measures, we trust the RBI to chart a course that empowers both builders and buyers, fostering a resilient real estate ecosystem that contributes significantly to the nation's economic prosperity aligned with the government's vision of Housing for All," he said. In a recent report, global rating agency Moody's also said the Reserve Bank will likely keep rates on hold in the coming months given strong growth and firm inflation. The government has mandated the RBI to ensure the consumer price index (CPI) based inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. On March 25, RBI deputy governor Michael Debabrata Patra, in a keynote address at Nomura's 40th Central Bankers Seminar in Kyoto (Japan), said inflation in India is moderating after surging on multiple and overlapping supply shocks from the pandemic, weather-induced food price spikes, supply chain disruptions and global commodity price pressures following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He also noted that inflation peaked early in response to coordinated monetary-fiscal policies to anchor inflation expectations and dissipate idiosyncratic food price pressures. As a result, inflation has fallen back into the tolerance band since September 2023, with core inflation steadily ebbing to even below the target, Patra said. Other members of Governor Shaktikanta Das headed MPC are Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma, Rajiv Ranjan, and Michael Debabrata Patra.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Bharti Hexacom will open for subscription on April 3. The issue closes on April 5. Through the public offer, the company plans to raise around Rs 4,275 crore. Here are 10 things to know about Bharti Hexacom IPO before subscribing to the issue.1) What is the business overview of Bharti Hexacom?Bharti Hexacom runs mobile services in Rajasthan and the Northeast circles of India. The northeast telecommunication circles in India comprise the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura. As of September 2023, the company had an aggregate of 29.1 million customers across both circles.2) What is the industry overview of Bharti Hexacom?The customer base in the Rajasthan circle is expected to grow at 1.4%-1.5% CAGR between 2023 and 2028, to reach 69.0-69.5 million, with a teledensity of 82%-83%. By fiscal 2028, the number of internet customers is projected to reach 62.5-63.0 million from 46.9 million in FY23, clocking a CAGR of approximately 6%.3) What is the size of the Bharti Hexacom IPO?Bharti Hexacom IPO consists solely of an offer-for-sale (OFS) component, without any fresh issue of shares. Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL), the sole public shareholder in the company, will offload 7.5 crore equity shares or a 15% stake in the OFS.4) What is the price band for Bharti Hexacom IPO?Bharti Hexacom has fixed a price band of Rs 542-570 per share for its maiden public offer. At the upper end, the company plans to raise Rs 4,275 crore.5) What is the structure of Bharti Hexacom IPO?About 75% of the offer is reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15% for non-institutional investors, and the remaining 10% for retail investors.Also Read: SRM Contractors IPO allotment to be finalised soon. Here's how you can check status6) How is the financial performance of Bharti Hexacom?For the six months ended September, Bharti Hexacom reported a revenue of Rs 3,420 crore, compared to Rs 3,167 crore a year ago. However, profit dropped to Rs 69 crore from Rs 195 crore a year ago. From an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 135 in FY21, the company has managed to improve this to Rs 195 during the six months ended September 2023.7) What are the objects of Bharti Hexacom IPO?The funds raised through the IPO will entirely go to the selling shareholder TCIL.8) What is the current GMP of Bharti Hexacom?According to market analysts, the current GMP of Bharti Hexacom is Rs 40 in the unlisted market.9) Who are the book-running lead managers for the Bharti Hexacom IPO?SBI Capital Markets, Axis Capital, BOB Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, and IIFL Securities are the book-running lead managers to the issue.10) When is the share allotment and listing date of Bharti Hexacom IPO?The share allotment for the IPO will be finalised on April 8 and the estimated listing date is April 12.